Vietnam-India ties enjoy substantive development: Ambassador

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India is enjoying dynamic and substantive development, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh. The ambassador granted an interview to the media on the Vietnam-India ties on the occasion of the 30th Diplomatic Conference to be held from August 12-17 in Hanoi. Ambassador Thanh said there are four outstanding points in the two countries’ relationship during the past two years. First of all, the bilateral political relationship and mutual trust have been strengthened thanks to the constant exchange of high-level visits. During the visits, the two countries have signed 17 more agreements on cooperation across the fields. Second, defence-security cooperation has reached the highest level ever, with its scope covering all military forces and the content expanded beyond information sharing and training to the production of military equipment. The two countries also conducted their first joint naval exercise. India has become the most important defence cooperative partner of Vietnam, the ambassador said. Third, economic partnership has thrived with two-way trade registering an impressive growth of more than 40 percent, from 5.6 billion USD in 2016 to 7.6 billion USD in 2017. Ambassador Thanh cited statistics of Vietnam customs that showed bilateral trade turnover touched 5.44 billion USD in the first half of the year, rising 48 percent on a yearly basis. On this pace, the figure for 2018 is expected to surpass 10 billion USD. Fourth, cultural diplomacy is… [Read full story]